News and Views from the People's Struggle
Houston, TX – Over 100 people marched through Houston's Third Ward, Sept. 24, to protest police brutality and demand justice for victims of police killings. The march began with a few speeches in front of the Martin Luther King statue in MacGregor Park, located near the University of Houston. After dozens of people had gathered, they began to march in the streets.
Houston, TX – Over 30 students at the University of Houston participated in a protest against police brutality on Sept. 16. They began with a rally in front of the MD Anderson library on campus, with signs reading, “Black lives matter,” “End police brutality” and “Stop racist killer cops.”
Lufkin, TX – On Sept. 14, students at Angelina College painted a banner for a Black Lives Matter rally being organized by Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).
Olinka Green speaks
Fight Back! interviewed Olinka Green, a Dallas area activist who has been very prominent in the Black Lives Matter movement, but who is also known for Palestine solidarity work, support for the struggle of trans people, anti-war work, and activism on many other issues that are important to progressives. We sat down with her to hear what she had to say about recent events in Dallas.
Highlights the need for a alliance between the working class and the Black liberation movement
It's hard to imagine a movie like Free State of Jones coming out at a better time. A little over a year ago, a white supremacist murdered nine Black members of Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church in Charleston, South Carolina, drawing inspiration from the Confederate States of America (CSA) and the KKK. In response, activists battled to tear down the Confederate flag from state buildings and won. All of this took place exactly 150 years after the end of the Civil War.
Jacksonville, FL – Over 500 people marched through downtown Jacksonville on July 10 demanding an end to racist police crimes. Local organizers affiliated with the #BlackLivesMatter movement called the protest in response to the recent murders of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Philando Castile in Minnesota.
Minneapolis, MN – Today at Noon NAACP head Nekima Levy-Pounds and hundreds of people held a press conference in front of the Minnesota Governors mansion to protest the police murder of Philando Castile on July 6, 2016. The aftermath of the shooting and death of Philando Castile was livestreamed by his partner Diamond Reynolds. Philando Castile had been driving while black when he was pulled over for a broken tail light. When asked by the officer for his license and registration he informed the man that he was a concealed carry permit holder and had a gun on his person. This is in compliance with Minnesota law and the procedures permit holders are instructed to use. The officer opened fire upon hearing that he had a gun, shooting him 3-5 times in the arm. Officers held Ms. Reynolds and her daughter in the car at gunpoint while Philando Castile bled to death in front of them. The livestream broadcast brought people to the scene who protested the murder throughout the night, eventually occupying the street in front of the MN Governors mansion. Philando Castile is remembered as a kind man who gave out extra graham crackers to the kids at J.J Hill school in St. Paul where he was a lunchroom supervisor. He was a 15 year member of Teamsters Local 320. This is at least the second police murder of an African American man this week
#MinneapolisMN #PoliceBrutality #PeoplesStruggles #MN #BlackLivesMatter #PhilandoCastile
Jacksonville, FL – The atmosphere at Simonds-Johnson Park was revolutionary on May 14, as people from across Jacksonville gathered for the second annual Malcolm X Festival.
Minneapolis musical legend, Black movement supporter, gender-bending pioneer
“His songs were musical arguments to live free.” -Boots Riley
Minneapolis, MN – For the fourth week in a row, Friday, March 4 brought a crowd of protesters to the office of Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman, demanding justice for Jamar Clark, who was killed by Minneapolis police in November. Once again, Freeman was out of the office. This week, protesters came armed with a letter from Jamar’s parents, James and Wilma Clark. The open letter was directed to Freeman, as well as Governor Mark Dayton and Minneapolis Chief of Police Janeé Harteau, and was also shared with the media.
Austin, TX – Over 300 students and activists marched at a Black Lives Matter demonstration in Austin on Jan. 30. The large crowd of both students and community activists rallied at the University of Austin campus to hear speeches and then marched to the Texas state capitol building.
I went into Eli Roth's The Green Inferno with very low expectations. Boasting the tagline, “No good deed goes unpunished,” this 2015 horror film follows the gory demise of a group of college student activists from the U.S. who get captured, tortured and eaten by a cannibalistic tribe in the Amazon rainforest.
Bloomington, MN – Just two days before Christmas, Dec. 23, and despite a failed lawsuit that asked courts to force organizers to cancel, Black Lives Matter protesters descended on the Mall of America (MOA) to protest the police murders of Jamar Clark and other African Americans.
Minneapolis, MN – In an unprecedented attempt at halting the upcoming Black Live Matters Minneapolis gathering, the Mall of America has sued eight activists to compel them to immediately” post messages on social media and send out a mass text message announcing their Dec. 23 event is cancelled.
Minneapolis, MN – Chanting, “If Jamar don’t get it, shut it down!” hundreds of people marched Dec. 19 in frigid weather from the Fourth Police Precinct in north Minneapolis to city hall demanding justice for Jamar Clark. Clark, a 24-year-old African American man, was shot in the head and killed by the Minneapolis police on Nov. 15 on Plymouth Avenue in north Minneapolis, sparking an 18-day encampment at the Fourth Precinct to protest his killing. Today’s march was the largest protest since police dislodged the occupation in front of the Fourth Precinct on Dec. 3.
Minneapolis, MN – Black Lives Matters Minneapolis announced Dec. 17, that a #Justice4Jamar protest will move forward at the Mall of American in Bloomington, unless authorities release the tapes of Clark’s killing, prosecute the police by a special prosecutor without a grand jury, and bring federal terrorism charges against the white supremacists who shot protesters at the Fourth Precinct police station.
Minneapolis, MN – On Thanksgiving, Nov. 26, the round-the-clock occupation outside the Fourth Police Precinct in North Minneapolis continued demanding justice for Jamar Clark, the Black man killed by Minneapolis police on November 15.
Minneapolis, MN – Some 3000 people marched two-and-a-half miles from the Minneapolis Police Fourth Precinct to City Hall to protest the police murder of Jamar Clark, and demand the prosecution of the police officers that were involved. The march from the Fourth Precinct started in the afternoon of Nov. 24. Protesters have been occupying the precinct around the clock since the killing on November 16.
Minneapolis, MN – 400 students at the University of Minnesota rallied Nov. 24 on Northrop Plaza in response to the prior night’s white supremacist shooting of five Black Lives Matter protesters in North Minneapolis. After the U of MN rally, they went together to the city-wide march for Justice for Jamar Clark, the Black man who was executed by the Minneapolis police a week ago, sparking an around-the-clock occupation of the front of the Fourth Police Precinct in North Minneapolis.
Minneapolis, MN – More than 100 people filed into New Salem Missionary Baptist Church for a community meeting to respond to the police murder of 24-year-old Jamar Clark in North Minneapolis. Pastor Jerry McAfee was joined by some 20 other pastors, imams and other community leaders to give comfort to Clark’s family, and unite the community in calling for justice.